“Looks like the philosophers and theists have made their cases. As far as entomologists are concerned, insects do not have pain receptors the way vertebrates do. They don’t feel ‘pain,’ but may feel irritation and probably can sense if they are damaged. Even so, they certainly cannot suffer because they don’t have emotions. If you heavily injure an insect, it will most likely die soon: either immediately because it will be unable to escape a predator, or slowly from infection or starvation. Ultimately this crippling will be more of an inconvenience to the insect than a tortuous existence, so it has no ‘misery’ to be put out of but also no real purpose anymore. If it can’t breed anymore, it has no reason to live.

“In other words, I have not answered your question because, as far as the science is concerned, neither the insect nor the world will really care either way. Personally, though, I’d avoid doing more damage than you’ve already done. 1) Maybe the insect will recover, depending on how damaged it is. 2) Some faiths do forbid taking animal lives, so why go out of your way to kill? 3) You’ll stain your shoe.”

Interesting!
The other answers on that page are fascinating in terms of the ways people approach their duties to an injured insect. They are far, far more compassionate than this story about the question in Gawker, which describes insects as “the bubble-wrap of nature.” Schmucks.

I’ve read a similar explanation from Bernd Heinrich, and that since pain is an evolved mechanism for avoiding something that will kill you if you keep doing it or do it again, and that insects don’t need this mechanism as they usually have such brief lifespans. Fair enough, but would like to hear how exactly one tests the pain receptors of insects for curiosity’s sake. As for me, injured bugs get fed to my turtles (or toads when I’m rearing them each summer) which is usually a quick death.

Check out our Wish List!

The insect educational program I run has a wish list for supplies we use regularly to care for our animals:
Bug Barn Amazon Wish List
Please consider buying the Bug Barn some cages or crayons! That lets me use the savings to hire more undergraduates for hands on training.